Improvement in portable railways



ATTOFKN EY.

T. E. ALLISON. Portable Railway.

-Pa'cenced Aug. 12, 1879.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIGE.

T. ELLWOOD ALLISON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PORTABLE RAILWAYS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 218,360, dated August12, 1879 application filed June 28, 1879.

To all 'whomv it may concern.-

Beit known that I, T. ELLwooD ALLIsoN, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in the Construction of Portable Railways, which improvementis fully set forth in lthe following specification and accompanyingdrawings, in Which- Figure l is a top or plan view of a section of aportable railway embodying my invention.' Fig. 2 is a side view of aportion thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical section in line :v a', Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion thereof. Fig. 5 is a side eleva-tionof one of the rivets employed. Fig. 6 is a vertical section thereof inline z z, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section in line y y, Fig. 6.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts in theseveral gures.

My invention consists in uniting the rails and cross-ties by means ofrivets which are elliptical in cross-section, whereby the rivets areprevented from turning, angles are avoided thereon and in the openingstherefor in the rails and cross-ties, and they possess the greatestmetal in the direction of the strain and jars, thus producing greatstrength in the connection of the rails and cross-ties.

It also consists in the combination, with the rails and cross-ties, ofrivets which are elliptical in cross-section, and have the under side oftheir heads inclined so as to accord with the shape of the upper face ofthe base of the rail, so that no space exists between the heads andbase, whereby when the. rivets are headed they firmly clamp the parts,and permit no play between them, a'nd the durability and service of therivets are increased.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the rails, and B the cross-ties,which are riveted together, and form sections of a portable railway, theties being formed of inverted T- iron, so that the ribs or verticallimbs rest on or in the earth. f

C represents the rivets employed for connectin g the rails and ties,-and they are passed through openings a in the base of the rails andopenings bin the cross-ties, and headed,77 so as to firmly unite theparts.

.of metal is in the direction of the thrust, strain,

or longitudinal jars of the rails, the rivets are prevented fromturning, and the rivets and the openings present no angles which may becut by the tendency of angular rivets to turn, by which means the rivetspossess great strength, the bases of the rails and cross-ties are notmaterially weakened, and the connection of parts is firm and reliable.

The under side of the head d of each rivet is set atan angle, so as toaccord with the angle of the upper face of the base of the rail, (seemore particularly Fig. 3,) whereby when the rivet is inserted inposition its inclined head rests flat against the base, and when therivet is headed there is no space left for play between head and basedue to the Wear of the parts, and thus the latter remain iirmlyconnected, and the durability and service of the rivets are increased.Furthermore, the head of the rivet projects from or overhangs the shankon all sides, and thus has a bearing on the base entirely around thewall of the opening in the base, thus also increasing the service of therivet.

It will be found that the sections of the railway are strong, stiff, anddurable.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The rails A, having elliptical openings a, and the cross-ties B,having elliptical openings b, in combination with the rivets C,elliptical in cross-section, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

2. The rails A and ties B, in combination with the rivets C, ellipticalin cross-section, and having heads d, inclined on their under sides,forming together an improvement in portable railways, all as set forth.

T. E. ALLISON.

Witnesses JOHN A. WIEDERSHEIM, A. P. GRANT.

